Textile wastewater reuse as an alternative water source for dyeing and finishing processes: A case study

The textile industry is one of the most important industries in China. Its biggest impact on the environment is related to primary water consumption and wastewater discharge. Reuse of wastewaters represents an economical and ecological challenge for the textile sector. In this work, a 600 m3/day pilot plant with biological treatment systems and membrane technology of wastewater reclamation has been investigated. The results showed that the average removal efficiencies of COD, color, turbidity were about 93%, 94.5% and 92.9%, respectively. Below 50 mg/L of COD, 10 Pt–Co of color, 2 NTU of turbidity and no suspended solids (SS) were contained in the effluent. The total cost for wastewater reclamation was approximately 0.25 US$/m3 with initial manufacturing cost excluded. The treated effluent quality satisfied the requirement of water quality for dyeing and finishing process excluding light coloration. Therefore, textile wastewater reclamation and reuse is a promising alternative, which can both conserve or supplement the available water resource and reduce or eliminate the environmental pollution in China.